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Arielle Dombasle

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Arielle Dombasle
Dombasle in 2006
Born
Arielle Laure Maxime Sonnery

(1953-04-27) April 27, 1953 (age 71)
Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Citizenship
  • United States
  • France
Occupation(s)Actress, singer, director
Years active1978–present
Spouses
  • Paul Albou (1976–1985)
​
(m. 1993)​
Websitewww.arielle-dombasle.com

Arielle Dombasle (born April 27, 1953)[Note 1] is an American-born French singer, actress, director and model. Her breakthrough roles were in Éric Rohmer's Pauline at the Beach (1983) and Alain Robbe-Grillet's The Blue Villa (1995). She has worked with a wide variety of filmmakers, including Werner Schroeter on Two (2002), Philippe de Broca on Amazon (2000), Roman Polanski on Tess (1979), Jean-Pierre Mocky on Crédit pour tous (2011) and Raoul Ruiz on Savage Souls (2001). She also starred in the 1984 ABC miniseries Lace and its 1985 sequel Lace II and appeared as a guest on Miami Vice. Dombasle has released thirty-four singles and eleven albums and has directed six movies.

Early years

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She was born Arielle Laure Maxime Sonnery in Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of Jean-Louis Melchior Sonnery de Fromental, a silk manufacturer, and Françoise Garreau-Dombasle. She descends from French-American immigrants in Mexico under her grandfather's diplomatic tenure. The family's surname was created in 1912, when Dombasle's grandfather René Sonnery (1887–1925), an industrialist from Lyon, married Anne-Marie Berthon du Fromental. Arielle took the pseudonym Arielle Dombasle in memory of her mother who died at the age of 36. She was raised as a Roman Catholic.[1]

Dombasle and her brother Gilbert were raised in Mexico by their maternal grandparents after their mother's death in 1964. She attended the Lycée Franco-Mexicain. She was also raised at Château de Chaintré, the Sonnery family estate near Mâcon, Saône-et-Loire. Her maternal grandfather, Maurice Garreau-Dombasle, a close friend of and advisor to Charles de Gaulle,[2] was a long time commercial attaché for the French Embassy, who resigned from his post on September 3, 1940, declaring that he would "never work 'under German control',"[3] and on June that year was one of the founders of France Forever,[4] had later served as the French ambassador to Mexico. Her maternal grandmother was Man'ha Garreau-Dombasle (née Germaine Massenet, 1898–1999), a writer and poet who translated Rabindranath Tagore's works into French and was a longtime friend of the science fiction writer Ray Bradbury, who dedicated his 1972 novel The Halloween Tree to her.

Career

[edit]
Dombasle at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival

Dombasle embarked on a career as an actress and singer after attending the Conservatoire International de Musique de Paris[5] and further studies in Mexico.[6] Dombasle has appeared in several Hollywood productions, but most of her acting work has been in French, unlike her albums which are mostly in Spanish and English. She directed four films, Les Pyramides Bleues, Chassé-croisé, Opium and Alien Crystal Palace. She once described her own looks as "a Crazy Horse dancing girl".[7]

In 2006, she released both albums Amor Amor and C'est si Bon in the USA. In September 2006, she also performed three nights in a row at the Supper Club in New York City in front of Michael Douglas, John Malkovich, Lauren Bacall, Salman Rushdie, Andrée Putman and Charlie Rose. The latter invited Arielle Dombasle to promote her albums on The Charlie Rose Show.[8]

Arielle Dombasle then released several albums in France; Glamour à Mort!, Diva Latina, Arielle Dombasle by ERA and La Rivière Atlantique with French rocker Nicolas Ker.

Dombasle joined Les Grosses Têtes, a French radio programme, in January 2016.[9]

That same year, Arielle Dombasle released her fragrance, Le Secret d'Arielle, within Mauboussin. The promotional campaign was created by the French artist Leonardo Marcos.

Dombasle is the first contestant who was confirmed for the eighth season of Danse avec les Stars (the French version of Dancing with the Stars).[10]

In 2018, along with Mareva Galanter, Inna Modja and Helena Noguerra, Arielle Dombasle recreated the French band Les Parisiennes.

Two years later, in 2020, Arielle Dombasle announced she would be releasing a second joint album with Nicolas Ker, named Empire. The album was supposed to be released on April 24, 2020, but was postponed to June 16, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]

In 2023, Dombasle directed and released the movie Les Secrets de la princesse de Cadignan based on Honoré de Balzac's Comédie Humaine.

In 2024, Arielle Dombasle released an album entitled Iconics.

Personal life

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Dombasle is the third wife of writer Bernard-Henri Lévy. They married on June 19, 1993, at Saint-Paul-de-Vence on the Côte d'Azur where they have a villa. She has two stepchildren, Antonin-Balthazar Lévy and Justine Lévy, a novelist. She was previously married to Dr. Paul Albou, described by Vanity Fair as a "playboy society dentist, 32 years her senior."[6]

In 2009, she signed a petition in support of Roman Polanski, calling for his release after Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 charge for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl, after Steve Cooley, the then Los Angeles District Attorney, tried to prosecute him.[12]

Dombasle is vegetarian.[13] In 2016, she campaigned against abattoirs (slaughterhouses) for PETA.[13]

Theater

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Year Title Author Director Notes
1979 Das Käthchen von Heilbronn Heinrich von Kleist Éric Rohmer Maison de la culture de Nanterre
La Fugue Francis Lacombrade & Bernard Broca Jean-Claude Brialy Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin
1985 Retour à Florence Henry James Simone Benmussa Théâtre Renaud-Barrault
1991 L'Absolu naturel Goffredo Parise Simone Benmussa Théâtre Renaud-Barrault
L'as-tu revue ? Olivier Benezech Olivier Benezech Opéra-Comique
1992 Le Jugement dernier Bernard-Henri Lévy Jean-Louis Martinelli Théâtre de l'Atelier
2003 La Belle et la Toute Petite Bête Jérôme Savary Jérôme Savary Opéra-Comique
2008 Don Quichotte contre l'Ange bleu Jérôme Savary Jérôme Savary Théâtre de Paris
2013 El Tigre Alfredo Arias Alfredo Arias Théâtre du Rond-Point
2017 Folle Amanda Pierre Barillet & Jean-Pierre Gredy Marie-Pascale Osterrieth Théâtre de Paris

Filmography

[edit]

Actress

[edit]
Year Title Role Director Notes
1978 Perceval le Gallois Blanchefleur Éric Rohmer
Mazarin Marie-Thérèse Pierre Cardinal TV Mini-Series
1979 Tess Mercy Chant Roman Polanski
Je te tiens, tu me tiens par la barbichette Advertising Actress Jean Yanne
The French Atlantic Affair Hotel Operator Douglas Heyes TV miniseries
Les dossiers de l'écran Marie de Bourgogne Alexandre Astruc TV series (1 Episode)
1980 Justocoeur Guest Mary Stephen
Catherine de Heilbronn Kunigunde de Thurneck Éric Rohmer TV movie
1981 Fruits of Passion Nathalie Shūji Terayama
Une robe noire pour un tueur The drug addict José Giovanni
Putain d'histoire d'amour Antonella Gilles Béhat
Les panthères Micheline Philippe Masson TV movie
La princesse lointaine Clarisse Jean-Pierre Prévost TV movie
Histoires extraordinaires Lady Ligeia Fell Maurice Ronet TV series (1 Episode)
1982 Le Beau Mariage Clarisse Éric Rohmer
Chassé-croisé Ermine Arielle Dombasle
Laissé inachevé à Tokyo Sophie Olivier Assayas Short
Les dames à la licorne Lazare Iglesis TV movie
Mozart [fr] Nancy Marcel Bluwal TV miniseries
1983 La Belle captive The hysterical woman Alain Robbe-Grillet
Pauline at the Beach Marion Éric Rohmer
Rosette sort le soir Katie Rosette Short
Un été nommé désir Arielle Fred de Fooko Short
1984 Los motivos de Berta José Luis Guerín
Rosette prend sa douche Sapho Rosette Short
Penelope Last The woman Fernando Cobo Short
Lace Maxine Pascal William Hale TV miniseries
1985 La Nuit porte-jarretelles The secretary Virginie Thévenet
Vive la mariée Charlotte Jean Valère TV movie
Lace II Maxine Pascal William Hale TV miniseries
1986 The Boss' Wife Louise Roalvang Ziggy Steinberg
Flagrant désir Marguerite Barnac Claude Faraldo
Sins Jacqueline Gore Douglas Hickox TV miniseries
Miami Vice Callie Basset Rob Cohen TV series (Episode: "Definitely Miami")
1987 Jeux d'artifices Arielle Virginie Thévenet
1988 Les pyramides bleues Elise Arielle Dombasle
Rosette vole les voleurs The dinner woman Rosette Short
Sueurs froides Juliette Bolbec Hervé Palud TV series (1 Episode)
1989 Twisted Obsession Marion Derain Fernando Trueba
Try This One for Size Maggie Guy Hamilton
Incognito Renata Alain Bergala TV movie
The Saint: Wrong Number Stella Moreau Marijan David Vajda TV movie
Around the World in 80 Days Lucette Buzz Kulik TV miniseries
L'or du diable Emma Calve Jean-Louis Fournier TV miniseries
1990 Moi, général de Gaulle The Countess of Portes Denys Granier-Deferre TV movie
L'homme au double visage Régine Larnin Claude Guillemot TV movie
1991 Lola Zipper Loretta Ilan Duran Cohen
Mémoires Eric Summer Short
1992 Off Season Madame Studer Daniel Schmid
The Absence Peter Handke
La vie crevée Angele Guillaume Nicloux
Villa Mauresque Sandra Patrick Mimouni
Terror Stalks the Class Reunion Clive Donner TV movie
La mare aux crocodiles Florence Cross Neal Sundstrom TV movie
1993 L'Arbre, le maire et la médiathèque Bérénice Beaurivage Éric Rohmer
Miroslava Miroslava Alejandro Pelayo
Grand bonheur The actress Hervé Le Roux
1994 Un indien dans la ville Charlotte Hervé Palud
Fado majeur et mineur Leda Raúl Ruiz
Red Shoe Diaries Celeste Rafael Eisenman TV series (1 Episode)
1995 One Hundred and One Nights The singer Agnès Varda
The Blue Villa Sarah La Blonde Dimitri de Clercq & Alain Robbe-Grillet
Mécaniques célestes Céleste Fina Torres
Raging Angels Megan Alan Smithee
À propos de Nice, la suite Raúl Ruiz
L'annamite Jeanne Thierry Chabert TV movie
1996 Three Lives and Only One Death Hélène Raúl Ruiz
Les 2 papas et la maman Delphine Jean-Marc Longval & Smaïn
Soyons amis! Arielle Thomas Bardinet Short
1997 Day and Night Laure Bernard-Henri Lévy
Heads or Tails Rose Petipas Claude Fournier
Jeunesse Clémence Noël Alpi
Opération Bugs Bunny The fairy Michel Hassan TV movie
Il deserto di fuoco Magda Enzo G. Castellari TV miniseries
Maigret Mylène Turner Pierre Koralnik TV series (1 Episode)
1998 L'Ennui Sophie Cédric Kahn Nominated - César Award for Best Supporting Actress
Let There Be Light The Blond God Arthur Joffé
Bo Ba Bu BA Ali Khamraev
Hors jeu Herself Karim Dridi
Les amis de Ninon The client Rosette Short
Ivre mort pour la patrie The bride Vincent Hachet Short
1999 Asterix & Obelix Take On Caesar Madame Agecanonix Claude Zidi
Time Regained Madame de Farcy Raúl Ruiz
Les infortunes de la beauté Daphné John Lvoff
C'est pas ma faute! Vanessa Goudard Jacques Monnet
2000 Vatel Princess of Condé Roland Joffé
The Libertine The Marquise de Jerfeuil Gabriel Aghion
Amazone Margot Philippe de Broca
30 ans Geneviève Laurent Perrin
Les faux-fuyants Luce Ader Pierre Boutron TV movie
2001 Savage Souls Madame Numance Raúl Ruiz
Gamer Valérie Fisher Patrick Levy
Les éléphants de la planète Mars The woman Philippe Barassat Short
2002 Two Professor Barbez Werner Schroeter
Hideous Man Madame KiKi John Malkovich Short
Les frangines Alix Laurence Katrian TV movie
La bataille d'Hernani Mademoiselle Mars / Dona Sol Jean-Daniel Verhaeghe TV movie
2003 Lovely Rita, sainte patronne des cas désespérés Mademoiselle Lecas Stéphane Clavier
La belle et la toute petite bête The Beauty Max Luna TV movie
2004 Les parisiens Sabine Duchemin Claude Lelouch
Quand je serai star Diane de Montalte Patrick Mimouni
Albert est méchant Barbara Lechat Hervé Palud
Milady Milady Josée Dayan TV movie
Sissi, l'impératrice rebelle Sissi Jean-Daniel Verhaegh TV movie
2005 Le courage d'aimer Sabine Duchemin Claude Lelouch
2006 Oh La La! Bettina Fleischer Anne Fontaine
Gradiva Leila / Gradiva Alain Robbe-Grillet
L'homme de ta vie Charlotte Laurence Katrian TV movie
2008 Sagan Astrid Diane Kurys
La Possibilité d'une île Mexican Delegate Michel Houellebecq
X Femmes Inspector Blondie Arielle Dombasle TV series (1 Episode)
2009 Au siècle de Maupassant The Duchess of Carigliano Jean-Daniel Verhaeghe TV series (1 Episode)
Myster Mocky présente Hélène Stone Jean-Pierre Mocky TV series (2 Episodes)
2010 Roses à crédit Madame Denise Amos Gitai
El baile de San Juan Virreina Francisco Athié
HH, Hitler à Hollywood Herself Frédéric Sojcher
Ni reprise, ni échangée Julie Josée Dayan TV movie
2011 La mer à l'aube Charmille Volker Schlöndorff
Crédit pour tous Madame Gobert Jean-Pierre Mocky
La rouge et la noire The daughter Isabelle Prim
2012 Une mariée fascinante The woman Ali Mahdavi Short
Scènes de ménages Sybille Karim Adda & Francis Duquet TV series (1 Episode)
2013 Opium Mnémosyne Arielle Dombasle
À votre bon coeur mesdames Aphrodite Jean-Pierre Mocky
The Return Karl Lagerfeld Short
Doc Martin Hortense Le Foll François Velle TV series, UK (1 Episode)
Y'a pas d'âge Cathy Stéphane Marelli, Vincent Puybaret, ... TV series (23 Episodes)
2014 Valentin Valentin Valentin's mother Pascal Thomas
DitArielle Herself Ali Mahdavi Short
Magnum Herself Philippe Katerine & Gaëtan Chataignier TV movie
2017 Fais pas ci, fais pas ça Herself Michel Leclerc TV series (1 Episode)
2018 Alien Crystal Palace Dolores Arielle Dombasle
2018 Ma Mère est folle Jess Diane Kurys
2023 Alibi.com 2 Apolline Philippe Lacheau TV movie
2023 Les Secrets de la princesse de Cadignan Diane de Maufrigneuse Arielle Dombasle

Director

[edit]
Year Title Notes
1982 Chassé-Croisé
1988 Les Pyramides Bleues
2008 X Femmes : Le Bijou Indiscret TV series (1 Episode)
2009 La Traversée du Désir Documentary
2009 Barbie by Arielle Dombasle
2013 La Voiture d'Albert
2013 Opium
2018 Alien Crystal Palace
2023 Les Secrets de la princesse de Cadignan

Discography

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Singles

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  • "Paris m'a séduit" (1980)
  • "Cantate 78" (1985)
  • "Je te salue mari" (1986)
  • "Nada más" (1988)
  • "Amour symphonique" (1989)
  • "Liberta" (2000)
  • "Odysseus" (2000)
  • "Rhum and Coca-Cola" (2004)
  • "C'est si bon" (2006)
  • "Où tu Veux" (2007)
  • "Extraterrestre" (2009)
  • "Hasta siempre" (2010)
  • "Porque te vas" (2011)
  • "Mambo 5" (2011)
  • "Ave Maria" (2013)
  • "Cold Song" (2013)
  • "My Love for Evermore" (2015)
  • "I'm Not Here Anymore" (2016)
  • "Carthagena" (2016)
  • "Point Blank" (2016)
  • "Ah c'qu'on est bête" (2018)
  • "Il fait trop beau pour travailler" (2018)
  • "Le chant des sirènes (We Bleed for the Ocean)" (2020)
  • "Just Come Back Alive" (2020)
  • "Le Grand Hotél" (2020)
  • "Humble Guy" (2020)
  • "Twin Kingdom Valley" (2020)
  • "The Palace Of Virgin Queen" (2020)
  • "Desdemona" (2020)
  • "Fever" (2022)
  • "Barbiconic" (2022)
  • "Boys in the Backroom" (2024)
  • "Diamonds are Forever" (2024)
  • "Olympics" (2024)

Albums

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  • 2000: Liberta
  • 2002: Extase
  • 2004: Amor Amor
  • 2006: C'est Si Bon
  • 2009: Glamour à Mort !
  • 2011: Diva Latina
  • 2013: Arielle Dombasle By Era
  • 2015: French Kiss (with The Hillbilly Moon Explosion)
  • 2016: La Rivière Atlantique (with Nicolas Ker)
  • 2018: Les Parisiennes (with Mareva Galanter, Inna Modja & Helena Noguerra)
  • 2020: Empire (with Nicolas Ker)
  • 2024: Iconics

Notes

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  1. ^ Dombasle's year of birth has been a subject of much debate, and various sources have given dates ranging from 1953 to 1958.

References

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  1. ^ Labadie, Pauline (June 7, 2013). "Val-de-Grâce contre Arielle Dombasle: "Une tempête dans un verre d'eau"". Le Figaro. Retrieved September 30, 2016. L'épouse de Bernard Henri-Lévy, catholique fervente, déclare sur son site internet: «Dès l'aurore de ma vie j'ai connu la prière. C'était un moment de recueillement que je croyais obligatoire. Enfant, je m'y appliquais, et déjà, j'en sentais les bienfaits sans trop savoir pourquoi.»
  2. ^ Keylor, William R. (December 7, 2020). Charles de Gaulle: A Thorn in the Side of Six American Presidents. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-4422-3676-9.
  3. ^ "French Diplomat Quits Embassy Job – Trade Counselor for 13 Years Declares He Will Never Work 'Under German Control' – Defies Recall to France – Garreau-Dombasle Says He Will Remain in U.S. to Aid 'Liberated Part of Empire'". The New York Times. September 4, 1940. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  4. ^ "France: Troubled Exiles". Time. March 10, 1941. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  5. ^ "A Woman at Home in Many Worlds", The New York Sun, May 24, 2006
  6. ^ a b "Bernard Henri-Levy: France's Prophet Provocateur", vanityfair.com; January 2003.
  7. ^ "crazy horse avec paris cabaret". Pariscabaret.fr. Archived from the original on August 2, 2008. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  8. ^ "Arielle Dombasle — Charlie Rose". Charlie Rose. September 13, 2006.
  9. ^ Martin, Thomas (January 22, 2016). "Arielle Dombasle rejoint Les Grosses Têtes !". RTL. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  10. ^ Moreau, Charlotte (July 19, 2017). ""Danse avec les stars" s'offre Arielle Dombasle". Le Parisien (in French).
  11. ^ "" Just Come Back Alive " le premier single extrait d'Empire !". Arielle-Dombasle.com (in French). March 28, 2020.
  12. ^ "Signez la pétition pour Roman Polanski !". La Règle du jeu (in French). November 10, 2009. Archived from the original on August 29, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Beaudoin, Anne-Cécile (September 29, 2016). "Arielle Dombasle, nouvelle icône végétarienne de PETA". Paris Match. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
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